Religion
There is only one religion in Dolandile. The three main gods are Jagrati, Anisha and Shikha . The minor gods are Elior, Saria, Tiriel, Kerlan, Helie, Esos, Lana, and Faron. According to the beliefs, originally only ten gods were supposed to exist, but one other being was unintentionally created, making the total number of gods eleven. Jagrati Jagrati dʒʌ’grʌti, the god of Creation; the one who rose from Chaos and created all the other gods and the world itself. He is said to be a gentle, quiet being, and possess the ultimate knowledge. His temples can be found all over the world, but mostly in Dahira (Sonorah), which has the biggest temple complex in Dolandile. Jagrati possesses the power of Life and is unable and unwilling to destroy. He is the Father of all that exists. The most important holiday in Dolandile, the Creation Day, is celebrated on 19th February in honour of Jagrati and his doing. Anisha Anisha ʌ’niːʃʌ, the goddess of Balance, was born as the tenth being, intentionally the last one to be created by Jagrati. She wields the power of equilibrium; all elements that the other gods represent balance each other out thanks to Anisha, who is the Balance herself. Her actions are said to be driven by emotions and not, like in Jagrati’s case, by knowledge and logic. Her temples can be found all over the world, especially in Dahira. The international holiday praising Balance is celebrated on 21st May. Shikha Shikha ʃiːkʌ, the god of Destruction, was born as the eleventh god. His birth is believed not to be intentional. He was created as a counterbalance to Jagrati, wielding the power of havoc (chaos?) and death. People believe that he is a fickle, perverse being with a the drive to meddle with people’s minds and destroy everything that has ever been created. Worshipping him officially is unpopular and his temples are rare to find. A myth tells that his main temple can be found in the Northern Mountains. A holiday in his honour is not official and is said to be celebrated by his followers on 31st October, also known as the Black Day. The Minor Gods 'Elior' Elior ‘eliɒr, the god of Strength and Courage, is the second spirit to ever exist. He is rumoured to be a noble, slightly hot-headed being who wields the Holy Sword, Fenrir. This Sword is said to be the only weapon that can fully destroy Shikha once the right time comes. Elior’s temples can be found all over the world, especially in Terraclea. A holiday worshipping the god of Strength is celebrated annually on 24th November. 'Saria' Saria ‘sʌriʌ, the goddess of Mind and Summoning, was the third spirit to be created. She’s believed to possess the power of summoning the souls of the ancient beings to aid her when in need. She is the goddess with the greatest amount of followers in Sonorah and many young women decide to become her priestesses to cherish the power of Mind and Soul which she represents. A holiday in her honour is celebrated on 30th August. 'Tiriel' Tiriel ‘tiriəl, the goddess of Light, the fourth spirit. She is rumoured to be a kind, gentle being, who possesses the power of Light, well-being and health. Her temples can be found all over the world, particularly in Sonorah, where her priestesses try to achieve the ability to heal flesh and mind. She is believed to be the Sun. An international holiday in her honour is celebrated annually on 19th of March, celebrating the upcoming sunnier, warmer days. 'Kerlan' Kerlan ‘kerlʌn, the god of Darkness, the fifth spirit. Even though he is believed to be a calm and fair god, his power has been greatly feared by the folk of Dolandile; he brings Darkness, doubt and uncertainty if people are not strong at heart. Despite the fear, he is still greatly worshipped all over the world as the being who brings the nighttime and takes care of people in a form of the Moon. The Sacred Night, which is basically a holiday when Moon is being worshipped, is celebrated on 20th July. 'Helie' Helie ‘heli, the goddess of Earth, is believed to be the kindest spirit of all. She possesses the power of Earth, which means she can control soil, rocks, and plants. She is also said to be able to communicate with animals. She is eagerly worshipped all over Dolandile and the first day of Spring is a holiday celebrated in her honour (21st March). 'Esos' Esos ‘ezɒs, the god of Air, is the seventh spirit. He is said to be very mellow and gentle. The fishermen pray for their safe return to both him and Lana before they set out to Alyon. His temples are located all around Dolandile. A holiday in is honour is celebrated in late summer (13th August). 'Lana' Lana ‘lʌnʌ, the goddess of Water, is the spirit that is praised mainly by fishermen and Alahardians, as Alahard is also known as the Lake Country. She is believed to be a quiet, serious goddess. 5th January is an international holiday celebrated in her honour. 'Faron' Faron ‘fʌrɒn, the god of Fire, is the ninth god ever created. He is believed to be temperamental but kind. He has his temples all over Dolandile. A holiday in his honour is celebrated in mid-summer (29th July). Big bonfires are made while people dance, eat and praise the god of Fire. The Battle It is believed that nearly 1000 years ago Jagrati created all the other gods – including Shikha – and the whole Dolandile. Soon after that, Shikha grew strong enough to try to destroy the Father God and his creation, but was stopped by Anisha and the minor gods in what is called the First Battle of Gods. The battle was fierce and matched until at some point the amount of magic became too massive to be controlled by the gods anymore; the released force discharged uncontrollably and deprived the spirits of most of their power, rendering them extremely weak. They did not die, but in order not to disappear completely they needed to be sealed by the priests of Saria into small crystals. The old sage going by the name of Irian wrote the legend down in a form of a rhymed prophecy, saying that once the new Millennium starts, the gods will choose certain mortals to connect with, borrow their bodies and fight one more time in the Second Battle, to end the conflict between Jagrati and Shikha once and for all. Religion all over Dolandile During the last 1000 years the beliefs grew much weaker in particular regions of the world. While in Sonorah the amount of religious followers is nearly as great as in the beginning, the number of believers in cities has decreased rapidly over the years. Temples can still be found all over the world and many people still worship their gods in them; not many believe the prophecy and the portent of the Second Battle, though. It has been observed that the amount of believers in particular areas is strictly connected to these areas’ magic density; the gods are greatly worshipped in Sonorah, where the magic density is extremely high, moderately worshipped in Terraclea and Alahard, where the magic density is slightly lower and uneven, and rarely worshipped in Maleecia, where the magic density is very dim.